* most of this post was airlifted from kotaku.com
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'While some people freak out about how cool the new open-world Zelda looks ...
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'... there's a segment of the fanbase that is currently debating one thing: could it be possible that Link is a girl?
'You don't have to go far to see these discussions. Immediately after we posted about the new Zelda, there were huge threads about Link's gender:
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'If you go on Twitter and search "Link girl,"there are a ton of tweets discussing the possibility—here's but a small selection:
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'People on forums are talking about it. There are articles about it, some of which analyze Link's figure and facial features and use it as "evidence" of Link's gender change. Some people swear they see breasts. Fan-art of the new Zelda contemplates the idea. Heck, some people are even doing FRAME BY FRAME ANALYSIS of the reveal trailer, in an attempt to look for clues:
'Truthfully, even though this video by Irockman1 seems like a joke that pokes fun at people who are acting like Zelda truthers, it really does seem like the sort of thing an obsessive video game fan would do. People are actually doing this weird thing where they're trying to find "tells" of Link's gender—even though previous Links have always been a tad androgynous:
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'Of course, it doesn't help that there's a quote floating around by Eiji Aonuma about the character shown in the reveal trailer. "No one explicitly said that that was Link,"Aonuma vaguely teased in an interview with Venture Beat. It's given rise to another theory: perhaps the person we see in the trailer isn't Link, but rather Zelda. Who knows!
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'Right now, the way people are picking apart features makes me feel weird and slightly uncomfortable. It shows that people have a hard time dealing with male characters with feminine traits, and it's really telling of how strictly we classify things in accordance to gender norms. That's a shame. Who says ponytails and earrings are a thing only girls can wear? It's especially baffling when previous male links have things like earrings before.
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'But on some level I think the discussions are happening because people would genuinely love to play as a female character. There's a definite tinge of "wouldn't this be cool for Nintendo to do?" that trails most of the discussions I've seen, and it's often followed by a slightly defeatist "naw, Nintendo wouldn't actually do that...right?"
'If Link turns out to be a girl, that would be rad and novel. And if not, hey. That's fine too, because I'm totally into the new Link. He's kiiiind of hot.'-- Patricia Hernandez
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Bonus
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time speedrun in 18:10 by Cosmo Wright
live
commentated
*
p.s. Hey. ** Hyemin kim, Hi. Oh, as someone swamped and very busy myself, I understand about the delay. No problem. My broken ribs are virtually if not completely healed, and, otherwise, I feel great, actually. Hope your feelings are in the greatness realm too. ** Gregoryedwin, Hi. Exactly, about that book and her mysterious abilities. Thanks! ** Mark Gluth, Hi, Mark! Good, I've got The Shocking Pinks penned in for a scheduled new music hunt post-editing tonight. Oh, yeah, the eBook-like novel is kind of really exciting, on my end at least, and it should be out before too long. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh, Did you end up indulging in his films? If so, how did they sit? ** David Ehrenstein, He kind of is, right? ** Steevee, Hi. I figured he was clueless in addition to being a giant budget addict with boring ideas. That's really too bad about 'Inherent Vice'. I've been kind of really interested by it. For the obvious reasons. I'm not one of those who think PTA is a god who can do no wrong by any means, but his films have always been very smart and curious and very worth seeing in my opinion. Is this a rare total misstep on his part? ** Dan, Hi, Dan. Oh, sorry about the domain issue, and, obviously, I'm glad it has been righted. I'll watch the Goldfrapp vid, cool, thank you! Take care! ** ASH, Hi, man! Never too late for a list, at least to list-addicted moi. I've only seen one of the films on your list. Really cool music list with stuff I liked a lot too (Grumbling Fur, Dean Blunt, Vessel, Flying Lotus) and that I basically just spaced on when I was making my list. The fineness of your track made my kindness a Pavlov Dog thing, man. Kudos. ** Sypha, With Nicki Minaj, I just stick with the videos. No, I haven't read the Cronenberg novel. I think I have that kneejerk, probably unfair reaction to novels written by masters of other mediums. But there are some people out there, yourself included, who not only like it but describe his writing intriguingly, and I'll flip through it at the very least the next I'm in an English language bookshop. Yay about getting the proofs! Exciting! ** Kier, Hi. Yeah, I think I remember not being able to find an interview with LH, or a decent one. All the more reason to get mine transcribed though god knows when. Very excited for the post whatever it has in it! Yum! I am really, really enjoying the editing. It's very exciting at a very, very slow pace, but the combination is interesting. It is, weirdly or not, not completely unlike editing a novel. I find myself making suggestions that I make to myself when editing fiction, and a lot of time they work filmically too. That's one very cool, enlightening thing about it. 'The Faculty' is awesome. Oh, shit, I need to do a Piper Laurie Day. Why didn't I think of that before? Cool, I'm going be on that as soon as I get the time. Yesterday was another day spent at Zac's in front of his computer editing. We finished a very solid cut of the 1st scene, and, yeah, I think it's incredible. It's quite long, 37 minutes at the moment, which is a surprise to us, but it can't be any shorter, I don't think. We're both really happy. That took all day into the darkness. Then I left, and Zac went on alone doing stuff I can't really help with like trying to fix the sound in the scene, which is all over the place. Today we start on Scene 2. We're going to try to finish it by our very fast approaching first deadline, but I would be surprised if we can. We'll see. After that, uh, ... boring stuff, I think. More of the same today, I'm afraid, but you never know. And you? And yours? ** Ken Baumann, K-K-K-K-EEEEEEE-N-NN-NNN-NNNN, Hi! Oh, no, I knew that your school was an eater of all sorts of stuff, hopefully a positive eater, whatever that would mean, so, no, I'm just happy to see you when I can. I'm sure it's too ambitious for your brief break, and I'm locked in an editing room 10-12/7, but come to Paris anyway, ha ha. LA Xmas ... that sounds so nice. I'm doing Paris, buches, pretty lights, the whole shebang. Your WiiU games-in-progress list is very impressive, and I'm all twingey. Def: Mario Maker, Starfox, yep. I don't know that other one. I'll look it up. I'm hoping the 'Eternal Darkness' sequel got funded and that, if it was, it won't be shit. I'm suspicious. Hugs all around, to you, to Aviva, even to all the cacti! Love, me. ** Flit, Flit! Flitster! Dudester! Etc-ster! Oh, right, you know him. I remember that vaguely now. Wow, cool. I like your wordage and your tone. You sound up. I'm good, really good! ** _Black_Acrylic, That 'Question Time' does sound like the talk-TV equivalent of a lit fuse. I wish I liked Russell Brand more. He spouts a lot of things I like and agree with. But ... I don't know, I'm suspicious. Don't know why exactly. My gut instincts aren't into him. ** Damien Ark, Hi, Damien. It's weird when the rug/post gets pulled out from under a comment-in-progress, but since it takes me a while to do the p.s. and I don't always remember to refresh the page when I finish, I guess it makes sense. You will alert us when your list is complete in January, won't you? In the meantime, the slice is cool. Quite a few music things I don't know at all, and that I will grab based on their inherent, obvious necessity and your high marks. Is your move a positive thing? I would think that exiting a dorm would be positive in most cases, and I like basements. How was it? ** Schlix, Hi, U. Me too re: the Cronenberg book. I'm going to find a way to read some Kis. You've put the taste in my mouth. ** Misanthrope, Hi. That doesn't make you a wuss in my book. I never ever chime in about politics on FB. I can't think of a single reason why I should. I just nod in agreement or boil with fury behind the scenes. I've only deleted one person so far due my not being able to take another one of his hateful opinions. There are a couple of FB friends like that who are on the border with me, and I'm still able to go, 'Okay, interesting to observe the spilling verbiage of someone with whom I so completely disagree', and I'm kind of just waiting for them to go a little further whereupon I might well have had my fill. Granted, I don't spend very much time on FB, but I can't get into the idea that it's the parameters of the new world or something. It remains an often useful, often irritating thing that marks a point in the development of social media, and I'm still mostly just interested that social media in general is this relatively new thing that will now forever be there in some form or another at the center of people's lives, and that's trippy not unlike the arrival of cell phones and the internet in general and blah blah. ** Rewritedept, Hi. Well, that form of making music sounds like the ideal way to make music anyway, and it won't stop further ambitions from happening if they so arise. You can send me Brian's tracks 'cos I'd be interested to hear them, but you can go ahead and make a launch post irregardless. I trust you. Editing is going swimmingly, in fact, thank you. Paris is nice, pretty, getting its Xmas look on, which is kind of when Paris is the most beautiful. Well, it's good that people ask if you're okay, right? I mean if they didn't, it would be sad, no? Awesome about the best man gig. Sounds like your bachelor party will beat the band or whatever they say. ** MANCY, Mance! Such a good list. Oh, the Copeland, yes, I totally spaced on that at list-making time. That was great. How's stuff? What are you up to? ** Kyler, Hi. Wow, that's quite a mega-gay party. And it was fun anyway, ha ha? Never been to one of those. Been to a few Lammy Awards things wherein I think I've never felt more out of place and, ha ha, never been made to feel more out of place too. Anyway, you had fun, and fun rules. Cool about the output from the new health insurance. Yeah, my therapist back when I was in therapy tried very hard to stay mysterious, although it didn't long to figure her out. ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Yeah, Luther Price is pretty interesting. Strange that he isn't more well known, cultishly loved and reviled. Strange. Yes, the Felix Kubin was great, and I haven't heard the latest David Grubbs. I will. He almost ended up being a collaborator with us on Gisele's work. When we started working with Stephen O'Malley, he wanted to bring in Grubbs and for them to do music for Gisele's work as a team, but Gisele wasn't into Grubbs's stuff that much, and, obviously, pairing Stephen and Peter Rehberg ended up being a brilliant stroke on her part. Have a splendid beyond splendid day, my friend. ** Okay. I guess the design of Link in the upcoming Zelda game has triggered off this debate about gender issues. I thought that was interesting. And I also thought it was interesting that no one thought to raise the possibility that Link is transgendered. Anyway, maybe you'll be interested too. Bye until tomorrow.
'While some people freak out about how cool the new open-world Zelda looks ...
'... there's a segment of the fanbase that is currently debating one thing: could it be possible that Link is a girl?
'You don't have to go far to see these discussions. Immediately after we posted about the new Zelda, there were huge threads about Link's gender:
'If you go on Twitter and search "Link girl,"there are a ton of tweets discussing the possibility—here's but a small selection:
'People on forums are talking about it. There are articles about it, some of which analyze Link's figure and facial features and use it as "evidence" of Link's gender change. Some people swear they see breasts. Fan-art of the new Zelda contemplates the idea. Heck, some people are even doing FRAME BY FRAME ANALYSIS of the reveal trailer, in an attempt to look for clues:
'Truthfully, even though this video by Irockman1 seems like a joke that pokes fun at people who are acting like Zelda truthers, it really does seem like the sort of thing an obsessive video game fan would do. People are actually doing this weird thing where they're trying to find "tells" of Link's gender—even though previous Links have always been a tad androgynous:
'Of course, it doesn't help that there's a quote floating around by Eiji Aonuma about the character shown in the reveal trailer. "No one explicitly said that that was Link,"Aonuma vaguely teased in an interview with Venture Beat. It's given rise to another theory: perhaps the person we see in the trailer isn't Link, but rather Zelda. Who knows!
'Right now, the way people are picking apart features makes me feel weird and slightly uncomfortable. It shows that people have a hard time dealing with male characters with feminine traits, and it's really telling of how strictly we classify things in accordance to gender norms. That's a shame. Who says ponytails and earrings are a thing only girls can wear? It's especially baffling when previous male links have things like earrings before.
'But on some level I think the discussions are happening because people would genuinely love to play as a female character. There's a definite tinge of "wouldn't this be cool for Nintendo to do?" that trails most of the discussions I've seen, and it's often followed by a slightly defeatist "naw, Nintendo wouldn't actually do that...right?"
'If Link turns out to be a girl, that would be rad and novel. And if not, hey. That's fine too, because I'm totally into the new Link. He's kiiiind of hot.'-- Patricia Hernandez
Bonus
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time speedrun in 18:10 by Cosmo Wright
live
commentated
*
p.s. Hey. ** Hyemin kim, Hi. Oh, as someone swamped and very busy myself, I understand about the delay. No problem. My broken ribs are virtually if not completely healed, and, otherwise, I feel great, actually. Hope your feelings are in the greatness realm too. ** Gregoryedwin, Hi. Exactly, about that book and her mysterious abilities. Thanks! ** Mark Gluth, Hi, Mark! Good, I've got The Shocking Pinks penned in for a scheduled new music hunt post-editing tonight. Oh, yeah, the eBook-like novel is kind of really exciting, on my end at least, and it should be out before too long. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh, Did you end up indulging in his films? If so, how did they sit? ** David Ehrenstein, He kind of is, right? ** Steevee, Hi. I figured he was clueless in addition to being a giant budget addict with boring ideas. That's really too bad about 'Inherent Vice'. I've been kind of really interested by it. For the obvious reasons. I'm not one of those who think PTA is a god who can do no wrong by any means, but his films have always been very smart and curious and very worth seeing in my opinion. Is this a rare total misstep on his part? ** Dan, Hi, Dan. Oh, sorry about the domain issue, and, obviously, I'm glad it has been righted. I'll watch the Goldfrapp vid, cool, thank you! Take care! ** ASH, Hi, man! Never too late for a list, at least to list-addicted moi. I've only seen one of the films on your list. Really cool music list with stuff I liked a lot too (Grumbling Fur, Dean Blunt, Vessel, Flying Lotus) and that I basically just spaced on when I was making my list. The fineness of your track made my kindness a Pavlov Dog thing, man. Kudos. ** Sypha, With Nicki Minaj, I just stick with the videos. No, I haven't read the Cronenberg novel. I think I have that kneejerk, probably unfair reaction to novels written by masters of other mediums. But there are some people out there, yourself included, who not only like it but describe his writing intriguingly, and I'll flip through it at the very least the next I'm in an English language bookshop. Yay about getting the proofs! Exciting! ** Kier, Hi. Yeah, I think I remember not being able to find an interview with LH, or a decent one. All the more reason to get mine transcribed though god knows when. Very excited for the post whatever it has in it! Yum! I am really, really enjoying the editing. It's very exciting at a very, very slow pace, but the combination is interesting. It is, weirdly or not, not completely unlike editing a novel. I find myself making suggestions that I make to myself when editing fiction, and a lot of time they work filmically too. That's one very cool, enlightening thing about it. 'The Faculty' is awesome. Oh, shit, I need to do a Piper Laurie Day. Why didn't I think of that before? Cool, I'm going be on that as soon as I get the time. Yesterday was another day spent at Zac's in front of his computer editing. We finished a very solid cut of the 1st scene, and, yeah, I think it's incredible. It's quite long, 37 minutes at the moment, which is a surprise to us, but it can't be any shorter, I don't think. We're both really happy. That took all day into the darkness. Then I left, and Zac went on alone doing stuff I can't really help with like trying to fix the sound in the scene, which is all over the place. Today we start on Scene 2. We're going to try to finish it by our very fast approaching first deadline, but I would be surprised if we can. We'll see. After that, uh, ... boring stuff, I think. More of the same today, I'm afraid, but you never know. And you? And yours? ** Ken Baumann, K-K-K-K-EEEEEEE-N-NN-NNN-NNNN, Hi! Oh, no, I knew that your school was an eater of all sorts of stuff, hopefully a positive eater, whatever that would mean, so, no, I'm just happy to see you when I can. I'm sure it's too ambitious for your brief break, and I'm locked in an editing room 10-12/7, but come to Paris anyway, ha ha. LA Xmas ... that sounds so nice. I'm doing Paris, buches, pretty lights, the whole shebang. Your WiiU games-in-progress list is very impressive, and I'm all twingey. Def: Mario Maker, Starfox, yep. I don't know that other one. I'll look it up. I'm hoping the 'Eternal Darkness' sequel got funded and that, if it was, it won't be shit. I'm suspicious. Hugs all around, to you, to Aviva, even to all the cacti! Love, me. ** Flit, Flit! Flitster! Dudester! Etc-ster! Oh, right, you know him. I remember that vaguely now. Wow, cool. I like your wordage and your tone. You sound up. I'm good, really good! ** _Black_Acrylic, That 'Question Time' does sound like the talk-TV equivalent of a lit fuse. I wish I liked Russell Brand more. He spouts a lot of things I like and agree with. But ... I don't know, I'm suspicious. Don't know why exactly. My gut instincts aren't into him. ** Damien Ark, Hi, Damien. It's weird when the rug/post gets pulled out from under a comment-in-progress, but since it takes me a while to do the p.s. and I don't always remember to refresh the page when I finish, I guess it makes sense. You will alert us when your list is complete in January, won't you? In the meantime, the slice is cool. Quite a few music things I don't know at all, and that I will grab based on their inherent, obvious necessity and your high marks. Is your move a positive thing? I would think that exiting a dorm would be positive in most cases, and I like basements. How was it? ** Schlix, Hi, U. Me too re: the Cronenberg book. I'm going to find a way to read some Kis. You've put the taste in my mouth. ** Misanthrope, Hi. That doesn't make you a wuss in my book. I never ever chime in about politics on FB. I can't think of a single reason why I should. I just nod in agreement or boil with fury behind the scenes. I've only deleted one person so far due my not being able to take another one of his hateful opinions. There are a couple of FB friends like that who are on the border with me, and I'm still able to go, 'Okay, interesting to observe the spilling verbiage of someone with whom I so completely disagree', and I'm kind of just waiting for them to go a little further whereupon I might well have had my fill. Granted, I don't spend very much time on FB, but I can't get into the idea that it's the parameters of the new world or something. It remains an often useful, often irritating thing that marks a point in the development of social media, and I'm still mostly just interested that social media in general is this relatively new thing that will now forever be there in some form or another at the center of people's lives, and that's trippy not unlike the arrival of cell phones and the internet in general and blah blah. ** Rewritedept, Hi. Well, that form of making music sounds like the ideal way to make music anyway, and it won't stop further ambitions from happening if they so arise. You can send me Brian's tracks 'cos I'd be interested to hear them, but you can go ahead and make a launch post irregardless. I trust you. Editing is going swimmingly, in fact, thank you. Paris is nice, pretty, getting its Xmas look on, which is kind of when Paris is the most beautiful. Well, it's good that people ask if you're okay, right? I mean if they didn't, it would be sad, no? Awesome about the best man gig. Sounds like your bachelor party will beat the band or whatever they say. ** MANCY, Mance! Such a good list. Oh, the Copeland, yes, I totally spaced on that at list-making time. That was great. How's stuff? What are you up to? ** Kyler, Hi. Wow, that's quite a mega-gay party. And it was fun anyway, ha ha? Never been to one of those. Been to a few Lammy Awards things wherein I think I've never felt more out of place and, ha ha, never been made to feel more out of place too. Anyway, you had fun, and fun rules. Cool about the output from the new health insurance. Yeah, my therapist back when I was in therapy tried very hard to stay mysterious, although it didn't long to figure her out. ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Yeah, Luther Price is pretty interesting. Strange that he isn't more well known, cultishly loved and reviled. Strange. Yes, the Felix Kubin was great, and I haven't heard the latest David Grubbs. I will. He almost ended up being a collaborator with us on Gisele's work. When we started working with Stephen O'Malley, he wanted to bring in Grubbs and for them to do music for Gisele's work as a team, but Gisele wasn't into Grubbs's stuff that much, and, obviously, pairing Stephen and Peter Rehberg ended up being a brilliant stroke on her part. Have a splendid beyond splendid day, my friend. ** Okay. I guess the design of Link in the upcoming Zelda game has triggered off this debate about gender issues. I thought that was interesting. And I also thought it was interesting that no one thought to raise the possibility that Link is transgendered. Anyway, maybe you'll be interested too. Bye until tomorrow.